1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates methods for the restoration of a decayed portion of a tooth and for dental matrices, dental wedges, interdental matrix stabilizers, dental separator rings, dental curing light devices, and kits that may be used in the methods for the restoration of a decayed portion of a tooth.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dental cavities that have spread to the dentin or have undergone cavitation are typically treated by removing the decayed portion of the tooth and thereafter filling the missing tooth structure with a restorative material such as silver (amalgam), white (resin), porcelain, or gold. Cavities that are located adjacent to neighboring teeth are called interproximal cavities.
When treating interproximal cavities, the dentist first removes the decayed portion of the side of the tooth. In order to properly deposit the restorative material on the side of the tooth without undesired leaking of the restorative material beyond the side of the tooth, the dentist places a dental matrix around at least a portion of the tooth. The dental matrix may be a metallic or plastic strip, and when the matrix is placed around at least a portion of the tooth, the matrix acts as a form for the desired shape of the restored tooth. Various dental matrix bands are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,712,608, 6,619,956, 6,350,122, 6,142,778, 6,079,978, 5,975,906, 5,807,101, 5,730,592, 5,622,496, 5,501,595, 5,460,525, 5,425,635, 5,114,341, 4,997,367, 4,781,583, 4,718,849, 4,704,087, 4,601,662, 4,553,937, 4,536,155, 4,523,909, 4,024,643, 3,842,505, 3,108,377, and 2,611,182, and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0019217 and 2005/0089814. (These patents and all other patents and publications cited herein are incorporated herein by reference.) The disadvantages of these known matrix bands is that they are not truly anatomic and therefore, they must be conformed to the tooth by pressure or other means. As a result, these matrixes are inefficient in that more dentist time is needed to complete the restoration, and the final result may be a non-anatomic restoration.
One or more dental wedges may be used to spread adjacent teeth to allow the dental matrix to be positioned between the adjacent teeth. The dental wedge(s) may also function as a matrix stabilizer that maintains the matrix in a desired position with respect to the tooth to be restored. Various dental wedges are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,890,176, 6,761,562, 6,482,007, 6,435,874, 6,425,760, 6,234,792, 5,527,181, 5,104,317, 4,468,199, 4,337,041, 4,259,070 and D439,667.
A dental separator ring may also be used when filling interproximal cavities. The separator ring applies pressure against the adjacent teeth to force the adjacent teeth apart to allow a dental matrix to be positioned between the adjacent teeth. The dental separator ring may also include specially configured ends that also function as a matrix stabilizer that maintains the matrix in a desired position with respect to the tooth to be restored. Example dental separator rings can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,325,625, 6,206,697 and 5,607,302.
A dentist may choose to use curable restorative material to fill the interproximal cavity. Many curable dental restorative materials harden by polymerization reactions initiated by ultraviolet light or blue wavelengths. After placing curable restorative material between the matrix and the tooth being restored and in contact with the tooth being restored, the dentist uses a dental curing light device to direct light onto the curable restorative material to initiate polymerization of the curable restorative material. The curable restorative material then hardens in the cavity. Example dental lights and light curing devices can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,097,364, 6,976,841, 6,155,823, 6,162,055, and 5,017,140 and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0275733, 2006/0275732, 2006/018835, 2006/0155171, 2006/0154197, 2006/0110700, 2006/0088798, 2004/0229186 and 2004/0053189.
Even though various dental matrices, dental wedges and dental curing light devices are available, there is a still a need for improved methods for the restoration of a decayed portion of a tooth and for improved dental matrices, dental wedges, interdental matrix stabilizers, separator rings, dental curing light devices, and kits that may be used in methods for the restoration of a decayed portion of a tooth.